Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Next.

This is a shimano M980 'race' xtr pedal.



Notice the pedal surface area (raw aluminium sections over the axle). This represents a huge (was it 400% ?) increase in surface area over the M970 xtr pedal. Can you feel it? most definitely! No foot hotspots, much more solid connect, easier to stand on un-clipped, likely increase in pedaling efficiency without resorting to carbon solde shoes you cant walk in... In some ways it makes the M970 obsolete...a shame as i have 3 sets on the go, all in perfect working order. But in riding, the M980 is streets ahead....i *love* it...Now, if you have seen bikerumor.com*, you may have looked at the article on Chris DeNoma's bike - a beautiful orange IF. Being a shimano rep, he's going to have some hop ups and black box type stuff, right? well precious little, but one thing he did have...



...was a modified M985 xtr 'trail' pedal. Basically he cut away the extended cage fore and aft. Look again at the raw aluminium flat area...its HUGE....precious little weight gain over the 'race' model, by removing the near useless extra cage, but a further massive increase in pedaling surface area. Errr, win?

My next project....

*Link to bikerumor.com article:

6 comments:

Dean said...

Lovely IF.

Think I might have to finally make the switch from Time to Shimano. Too many soles prematurely killed and these 980s look awesome.

Anonymous said...

Don't go ditching your old XTR's just yet. I have been reading in several reviews that yes, the pedal is a lot more comfortable but for some reason they clog with mud very easily as compared to the older model. I ride the older model and love em' and also wanted to switch to these. Having second thoughts now because of the reviews.

Greg D.

AdamM said...

That's a great idea. The flat area is why I love my Time Roc ATAC pedals, they are so supportive and I've never had a hotspot using them. Although I'm also thinking of making the switch to Shimano. Partly because Shimano pedals are much easier to get in Australia (hence availability of spare cleats when eneeded), I already own three older pedals sets that use Shimano cleats (versus one set of Time pedals) and new Shimano pedals are soooo much better than they used to be. I'm more likely to do this to the XT pedals than the XTR though... basically the same pedal for half the price!

dRjON said...

yeah, id read somewhere about the M980's not being so good in mud...so far with a fair old amount of mud! ive not had any experience with them that would suggest they are any different in terms of grip in mud, mud clearance or longevity...'course they've not been through a scottish winter, which is the real test for me, but im not too worried...

:-)~

Anonymous said...

article has gone awol

dRjON said...

so it has...odd!